The present invention generally relates to radiator mechanisms for an information processor comprising a display and a keyboard at its two distinct bodies respectively, and more particularly to a radiator mechanism for circuit-derived heat in a portable computer.
Portable computer or portable electronic information terminals, such as notebook personal computers (PCs), tend to generate more calorific values from IC components as their CPUs (central processing units) provide higher speed and higher performance. The increased calorific value should be radiated properly; otherwise the insufficient radiation would disadvantageously allow the heat derived from the CPU and other exoergic components to etc. to cause an unstable operation or malfunction.
On the other hand, the portable computer has been required to reduce its size and weight, and the keyboard body has also been required to reduce its weight and thickness. In general, the portable computer has a plate member under the keyboard such as an aluminum plate for enhancing its strength, and the CPU and other circuit elements on a wiring board are provided under the plate member. Otherwise, a radiator plate may be provided under the plate member for enhancing its strength. On the top of the keyboard body, a palm rest section is formed at a front side of a keyboard section, and a pointing device such as a touch pad, left and right buttons, and the like is provided as well. A battery pack, an expanded memory, and the like may be arranged under these devices, and an expansion unit and a PC card may be inserted and attached into a so-called selectable bay through a sidewall, of the body. Thus, the keyboard body of the information processor is high-densely filled with components, providing the insufficient space around the CPU as a heat source.
A conventional portable computer has radiated the heat from high-densely mounted circuit components in the computer body, using a flat or spherical heat pipe passing through the top of the CPU and other circuit elements. However, the higher increased operation speed and more complex signal processing in the CPU would increase the calorific value to such an extent that a conventional flat or spherical heat pipe itself could not prevent a malfunction or keep the stable operation.
In addition to the increased calorific value in the CPU, the recent trend of a slim structure for the keyboard section contradicts the provision of the radiator plate or heat pipe in addition to the reinforcing aluminum plate under the keyboard, because the radiator plate or heat pipe increases the thickness of the keyboard section, going against the trend toward of a compact and low profile computer.
It is conceivable to provide a dual-purpose radiator and reinforcing plate under the keyboard to radiate the heat from the CPU under the plate through a heat pipe attached to the plate, but the plate is placed under the keyboard, and thus should have too small an area for dissipating heat to keep uniform temperature in the portable computer as a whole. Therefore, it is not efficient in dissipating heat.
In the meantime, one of the challenges for the portable computer is to reduce its thickness. The main body of the portable computer includes the keyboard, and further needs a space for an expansion bay for a battery or expansion unit. Conventionally, the heat pipe is so provided as to occupy substantially the same height in a direction of the thickness of the portable computer, while the expansion bay for the expansion unit is provided under the keyboard section of the portable computer. In such a configuration, supposing the heat pipe is placed from side to side, the expansion unit would possibly collide with the heat pipe when the expansion unit is attached to the expansion bay. The portable computer would thus need to be designed to adjust its thickness on the drawing board so as to avoid such a collision, against the trend toward a low profile computer.
As a mechanism for improving the radiative efficiency, a computer provided with a cooling fan is known in the art, but such provision of the fan would result in upsizing of the apparatus by the same amount as the fan""s size, and disadvantageously cause a substantial increase of power consumption in the computer as a whole.
Therefore, in view of the foregoing technical issues, it is an exemplified object of the present invention to provide a novel and useful radiator mechanism for an information processor to efficiently radiate the heat around a circuit element in the compact and lightweight information processor.
In order to achieve the above objects, the radiator mechanism for an information processor according to the present invention comprises a housing, an input portion located in the housing, a circuit element provided in the housing, a radiator plate provided on the circuit element, a first heat pipe provided between the circuit element and the radiator plate, and a radiator portion extending and detouring around the input portion, while the first heat pipe is connected with the radiator portion, and radiates heat from the circuit element. According to this configuration, the first heat pipe transfers heat from the circuit element to the radiator portion on the radiator plate, in which the heat is radiated effectively and efficiently. An example of the above input portion is a keyboard section, and the above radiator portion may be configured to extend under the palm rest section.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, another heat pipe or a second heat pipe is provided near the circuit element in addition to the first heat pipe between the circuit element and the radiator plate. For example, the above heat pipe may be approximately ellipse-shaped in section, the above second heat pipe may be located so that its bottom portion may pass on the above circuit element, and a heat pipe fit-in portion may be formed in accordance with a thickness of the second heat pipe on the radiator plate, and the second heat pipe may fit in the heat pipe fit-in portion. Moreover, the second heat pipe provided near the circuit element may be in contact with the circuit element through a radiator piece made of a predetermined plate material.
Further, the radiator portion may be a plate member extending under the palm rest section, and the first heat pipe may be connected with a part of the plate member. The radiator portion may be located in a higher portion than the radiator plate in a thickness direction of the housing, and the first heat pipe may be raised to the higher portion in the thickness direction and may be connected with the radiator portion. Locating the first heat pipe with its heat-releasing end raised may increasingly improve its radiative efficiency.
Further, an expansion unit detachably attachable for expanding a function of the information processor may be attached into the housing, and the first heat pipe may be located so as not to overlap the expansion unit.
Furthermore, according to the radiator mechanism for an information processor of the present invention, the first heat pipe may be provided along a cranked route between said radiator portion and a portion near the circuit element, the circuit element may be an integrated circuit element, and the first heat pipe may be located near the integrated circuit element. A heat pipe fit-in portion may be formed in accordance with a thickness of the second heat pipe on the radiator plate, and the second heat pipe may fit in the heat pipe fit-in portion. The radiator plate may be made of a metal plate extending under the keyboard section.
Other objects and further features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following description of the embodiments with reference to accompanying drawings.